Graduation
by Green Gel-Pen
Summary: Soul and Maka are graduating!   Graduating is great, but not everything is perfect. With new jobs, new friends, and a few new enemies, there's hardly time to breathe. But falling in love doesn't really need much effort, does it? Soul x Maka. Review!
1. Chapter 1

_**PLEASE READ:**_  
>Hi :) this is my very first fan fiction and it's taking me lots and lots of courage to post this... please review, but be nice, please. T for language and some <strong><em><span>mild<span>_ **sex in ** **_later chapter_** **(I'll warn you so you can skip it if you want to). I'm not into serious lemon, but I do love a little intimacy ~ If you have any suggestions or ideas, please share, I'll credit you :D and any tips on how I could improve my writing style are greatly appreciated... This is just the first chapter, by the way...

IF YOU REVIEW I WILL MENTION YOU IN THE A/N, KAY? Unless you don't want me to... I'm desperate for some input...

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><p>The young Shinigami spoke into the microphone, "There's only a week left of school left for you. So, have a good rest of the year, and a good life outside of school."<p>

And the crowd of students cheered.

"Alright!" A meister said, a smile stretching across her face. She turned to her weapon, gesturing greatly in the direction of the podium the news had just come from. "Did you hear that?"

"How could I miss it?" The weapon responded, switching from his slouch to pushing his shoulders far back.

She turned to face the Shinigami once more, "Ah, look at Kidd, he's worried about his symmetry again," she chuckled at the sight of Kidd furiously pushing his hair back into place.

"Man, he needs to grow up." the weapon rolled his eyes. "He's getting more responsibilities with the academy and he's still crazy."

"Well, look at it this way; he doesn't spit up blood anymore, right?"

"Not as much," he corrected, going back to his slouch and taking his place next to his meister. "Last week at the movies he freaked when there were an odd number of seats in each row."

"Well, yes, but he had to deal with that through the whole movie. He didn't spit up blood until the movie was almost over."

"He still did."

"I guess so."

The weapon groaned and slid his fingers through his silver hair. "Damn, can you believe it? Seems like just yesterday we were trying to collect 99 keishin souls, and now look at us. We're one of the the best weapon-meister pairs in Shibusen."

"You're turning into a sentimental old man," she giggled again, and bent to look at Soul from below. "That's cute, Soul!"

"Shut up, Maka, I am not." He pushed her away from him, and she stumbled a bit before standing up straight again.

"But really," he said, looking at the mass of students that stood before him, as he and Maka were standing at the back, "We were just kids when we met. Now you're almost 18. This is our last week here."

"And you are 18," Maka stretched her arms. "You're right..." she turned to her partner, suddenly feeling anxious. "This is our last week at the academy!"

"Uh, yeah, I just said that," Soul said, curious about why she seemed apprehensive about something he had been looking forward to since the day he enrolled.

"Well, this is it! This is all we have left before we have to live life on our own."

"Oh, yeah," he was suddenly apprehensive too. "That's messed up! Way to ruin my good mood, Maka!"

"Hey, don't get mad, it's true!" She turned around. "What are we gonna do? Do you have plans for after graduation?"

"...Well, you know, I was... busy..."

"Oh, great..."

"Well, hang on!" Soul leaned forward to Maka, "You don't any either, do you, perfect student?"

Maka held her hands behind her back and shifted uncomfortably. "Well... not exactly..." a hard swallow. "I guess I was focusing so much on how everyone has changed, I never though of graduation plans..."

"SOUL!"

The first thing the pair saw was his blue hair. He laughed, then he put his arm around Soul. "This is it! We're almost out of this hell hole!"

"Black Star..." Soul muttered. "You haven't changed..."

Tsubaki came running after them, and she smiled when she saw that Black star was with Soul (and not bothering anyone else). "Hey Maka, Soul! How are you two?"

They waved at Tsubaki and greeted her at the same time, Maka with a "Hi Tsubaki!" and Soul with a "Hey."

"Can you believe the year is almost over?" Tsubaki said, smiling widely at them.

"Yeah, it went by so fast," Maka said.

"Yeah." Soul looked to Black Star, and a smile crept across his face. "Hey, Black Star, do you have plans for after graduation?"

"Me?" The assassin nodded. "Duh. Everyone does."

"Seriously?" The irresponsible Black Star had graduation plans and he and Maka didn't? If that wasn't a failure, he wasn't sure what was. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna stay with the academy and do the hard assignments. Someone's gotta do it, and I'm so up for it!" He laughed, smiling his huge smile. "After all, these people would die without the incredible Black Star!"

"Uh-huh..." Soul glanced at Tsubaki, who was giving Black Star her awkward smile, as usual. "You okay with that, Tsubaki?"

The weapon's attention focused from her insane meister to the person who currently had Black Star's arm around him. "Yes!" She said. "It was my idea."

"Really?" Maka sighed. "I wish I had thought of that..."

"I think they're looking for a meister to teach at the academy."

"Really? I would like to do that!" Maka smiled. "Alright!"

"Just a meister?" Soul said, trying to force Black Star off him.

"Yep." Tsubaki responded. "There's enough weapon-meister pairs, but they needed a meister who could do some teaching."

Soul nodded, slowly. "Right..."

"Soul!" Black Star kicked Soul in the head by accident as he struggled to cling to Soul more.

"...My bad," Black Star said, looking at Soul, who was sprawled on the ground at the moment.

"Dammit, Black Star!" he yelled, his hand over his bruised cheek. "I am seriously gonna freaking kill you before you can graduate!"

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><p>Soul flipped through the channels, and, as usual, there was nothing to watch. He looked up at the clock, and sighed. Maka was supposed to home in five minuets ago. The apartment felt empty without her there. <em>Get <em>_used __to __it__,_ he thought.

For some reason, he always though he and Maka were going to graduate together, so to speak. Like they were going to stay together. He didn't know why, but he always thought it would be that way. Then again, why should it be that way? They were just friends, and the only reason they were living together was because they were weapon and meister. He always just thought things would be the same, except without school and with jobs. But Maka might teach at the academy. What would he do? Would he move? The thought of just leaving everything behind sounded awful. The thought of leaving Maka behind sounded awful. She was always there. Sure, sometimes, she was annoying and drove him crazy. But he would miss some things. He would miss a lot, actually.

When he came home late, she wouldn't have dinner ready. She wouldn't lecture him about not calling or telling her. She wouldn't come into his room in the morning and announce she had made breakfast. She wouldn't laugh when he did something stupid. She wouldn't read her books quietly. She wouldn't rant about how terrible her dad was. She wouldn't be there to cheer him up. She wouldn't be there to fight with. She wouldn't be there to help him out.

She wouldn't be there.

The door slammed against the wall, and Soul jumped up from the couch. He was so deep in thought, the door actually surprised him. "Maka?"

"Hey, Soul!" The blonde had a pile of paper grocery bags in her arms. "Help!"

Soul ran over to her, balancing the huge tower so it didn't fall. "What the hell is all this?"

"We should have a party!" She said, her words muffled since she was using her face to balance the bags. "Grab a few off the top and put them on the table in the living room."

"The _living__room_?"

"Yep."

Soul grabbed the top half of the tower and set them of the living room table. In total she had nine bags.

"I can't believe you carried these all the way here without dropping them all," he said, sitting down on the couch.

"It was tough, but I got it." Maka sat down next to him, and Soul felt her arms brush against his.

"What is all this?"

"I got a cake, four different kinds of soda-"

"Four?"

"Four. Some chips, some cookies,-"

"Some?" Soul dug through the bags, examining its contents in amazement. This was _not_ like Maka at all. "You got five different bags of chips and 6 packaged cookies! And- what is this?" He took a white tub out of a bag. It looked like it had about a gallon of something in it.

"Cookie dough."

"You're kidding. Why do we need a gallon of cookie dough?"

"To eat."

"Raw?"

"Yeah. Just enjoy it, okay?"

"Where did you get the money for this?"

"I save, unlike someone I know."

He stared at her, with a mixture or amazement, disbelief, and the fear of the why she got so much sugar. To him, this seemed like a way to "let him down easy."

Maka took off her shoes and stood up, brushing off her clothes. "I'm going to get a spoon. You want one?"

"Uhh..."

"I'll just get you one." She turned toward the kitchen.

"Wait, Maka!" Soul grabbed her wrist.

She turned to him. "What?"

"...what... what is all this for?"

She sighed. "Graduation plans. I thought... I though things could get serious... Liz told me she feels better with lots of food... and I figured I should stock up on junk food since we'll probably have a tough week ahead of us."

Soul nodded. "I'll take a spoon."

Maka smiled. "Okay."

When she returned, she sat close to him and grabbed the tub of cookie dough.

"Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Soul muttered, shoving a spoon full of cookie dough into his mouth.

"Why not?" Maka asked, repeating the gesture.

"Guys do not eat cookie dough, especially to feel better. That's a chick thing."

"Then guys are missing out. But I won't tell."

"Thanks." Soul grabbed two sodas and opened them. He handed one to Maka, and she took a few sips before eating more cookie dough.

"So, Soul," Maka said, setting her spoon down on the table, "I guess I only have one important question."

Soul froze. He took a breath. "Okay."

"So, I think I want to take the teaching job."

This was one of the most unnerving moments of his life. Maybe the most unnerving. She was going to take the job. He was going to have to figure things out on his own. He was going to loose her. It was one of his worse nightmares. To him, going away from her was close to if she were to die. Sure, her death was worse, but this still seemed horrible. But he couldn't tell her that. If she wanted to take the job, she should. That was what she wanted. He could barely move. Somehow, as if only by sheer force of will, he said softly, "Okay."

"So I was wondering," Maka said, setting down the cookie dough and turning on the couch. She was on her knees, facing him. Soul did the same, except he sat with his legs folded. He stared into her eyes, as she stared back intensely.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you want to stay together?"

He blinked. "Do I what?"

Maka stuttered for a moment. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to stay with a book worm like me after you graduated, and you always like doing things your own way, so I thought I would ask you..."

He blinked again. Once. Twice. Three times. "You're kidding."

She scowled. "If you don't want to, just say no, I didn't think you would want to anyway. Don't be a jerk. I just thought I would ask instead of kicking you out if you-"

Soul leaned forward and hugged her tightly. It was a little odd now, since Soul had grown eight inches and Maka hadn't grown in height, Maka's face was basically pushed into Soul's chest.

"Ah, ah!" Maka squirmed, pushing on his chest to keep away. "Soul, what are you doing?"

"Of course I wanna stay!"

Now, it was Maka's turn to be surprised. "You what?"

"I thought you were gonna tell me I had to move out."

"N-no." Maka's face turned red. "Jeez, first you're acting sentimental, now you're hugging me..."

Soul pushed her back when he realized he was hugging her. "Sorry."

"Yeah." Maka turned toward the junk food and tore open a bag of chips.

Soul grabbed a few chips for himself. "You know what, Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"I just realized I can't call you tiny tits anymore, since you're at least a B now."

"MAKA CHOP!"

Some things never change.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry... please don't disown me...

It took me forever to update because I was having writers block... I was really stressed this week, so every time I tried to type, it was like BAM. nothing. So I'm sorry... really... please don't hate me after this :( I promise I'll try harder to update... I figured I would have you wait instead of posting something really stupid and cruddy... But this is pretty lame, I'm sorry, I _**PROMISE**_ next time it will be WAY WAY WAY better. this was just kind of a filler to lead on to the next part of the story.

_**I **__**PROMISE **__**NEXT **__**TIME **__**IT **__**WILL **__**BE **__**WAY **__**BETTER**_

Like I said, it was the chapter leading into the good stuff. I needed to set the stage... please don't disown me...

(this might seem bipolar next but I wrote this next part earlier so no worries)

Upon request, no lemon :) Promise...

This next part is just a thank you. You don't have to read this.

Thanks! (this will sound very peppy, so if you don't like pep, don't read it)

Thanks to everyone who read it and enjoyed it! A super _**HUGE**_ thanks to Aurovai, who was the first person to add Graduation to their story subscription alert, who also sent me an awesome review that was completely worthy to hold a place in my heart as the first review I received EVER. xXHikariRenXx and Progota reviewed and added it to their alert, and SCHAB added it to their alert too!

luvsouls, WingedHero540 and FlockFighter101 added Graduation to their favorite stories!

Crazy-Lazy-Me reviewed! Thanks! I also received an anonymous review... very mysterious... thank you, who-ever-you-are!

You guys are AMAZING! Anime fans are so much more fun than regular people, in my experience. Even the ones you never meet in person are still WAY more fun that regular online people. Normal people try to fit in. Anime fans couldn't care less how much they stick out.

Eck long a/n...

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><p>The last week of school flew by fast for Maka, who had always enjoyed school. She knew she would miss it. Sometimes when she would walk through the halls, she would completely stop whatever she was doing and stand silently in the hall for a moment. She would then recall a memory aloud to whoever was there to listen. One day, Soul had been there that moment.<p>

"You know, we met at this school," Maka had said to him. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes as she recalled that day.

Soul couldn't understand why she was acting the way she was. "What's the big deal? You're teaching here after graduation, aren't you? You aren't exactly leaving everything behind."

"Yes I am," she said, sighing again.

"You sure are being dramatic."

"I am not!" she turned to her weapon and glared at him. "No one else is going to be here with me. It'll be just me."

Soul nodded, then slowed his nod, then stopped completely. "You know, I'm not even going to pretend I get what you're saying."

Maka growled a bit under her breath. "Stupid."

"You're the one who doesn't know what she's saying!"

"None of my friends will be here! There's no Tsubaki, no Liz, no Patty, Black Star, Kidd! Not even _you_ are going to be here!"

Then Soul got it. She really was leaving something behind.

After their argument, Maka stopped reminiscing in the halls completely. Soul felt bad, since it was because of him. But it was still apparent she would miss being in high school. She sighed what seemed like all the time. Soul would see her running her fingers over the walls, looking like she was about to loose an old friend. He almost felt bad for her.

Almost.

Soul couldn't even begin to grasp the concept of actually missing school. School was hell on earth to him, something he would compare to prison. He felt like dancing every time he left that cursed building as he counted down the single digits of school remaining (which he would have if he wasn't so worried Maka would, well, kill him). The third from last day of school was over. Maka had stayed back, so Soul had exited the building by himself.

Black Star and Tsubaki were a few meters ahead of him when he left. He went to Black Star, punching his shoulder lightly and saying, "Hey, Black Star."

Black Star turned around, and smiled widely. "Dude, there's only two days of school left!"

Soul tried to keep his cool, he really did. But, this was the last days of school they were talking about. That, he decided, was a good reason to act uncool.

"I know!" Soul smiled widely. "It's so awesome!"

Tsubaki smiled at them, just like always, as they acted like total idiots. "So, Soul," she said, "what are you going to do after you graduate?"

The silver haired weapon stopped, turning his head to Tsubaki slowly. "...What?"

"What are you doing after graduation?"

And his happy moment was over.

When he got home, he sat in his room and thought hard on what to do. He could go to college, but what did he really want to do? What kind of things did a human weapon do, anyway? He wasn't exactly smart. His athletics were good, but they weren't very far above the average person. So all he had was the ability to turn into a weapon. He turned over ideas in his head, some making sense, some not. He groaned, loudly, and feel back on his bed. "Dammit," he said, "why do I suck?"

"You don't suck."

Soul looked up at his meister, who was poking her head into the door. "Oh, hey."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Maka sat down next to him on the bed. "What's the matter?"

Soul grunted. Maka was the last person he wanted to tell. She would lecture him about him irresponsible it was to make graduation plans with two school days left. "Nothing," he muttered, after a long pause.

"Fine." Maka got up and, to Soul's surprise, walked out the door.

_What __the __hell__? _Soul stared at his door for a second. _Fine__, __I __don__'__t __need __her __to __figure __out __what _I _want __to __do__._

He closed his eyes, and thought hard. A million ideas rolled through his head, but he dismissed all of them.

He couldn't think of a single thing.

He groaned. Maka had her whole life after school basically handed to her. He knew she needed to interview, but this was Maka. She was a genius, at the top of her class. She knew Shinigami-sama well, her father was his personal death scythe, and she was friends with Shinigami-sama's son. She had basically saved the entire town once even! She was definitely going to make it in. Along with that, Spirit was most likely conducting the interviews. She could walk in drunk and her interview would still go "great" as far as the shinigami would know. Maka had her life laid out for her.

_Well__, __I __guess __she __should__, _Soul thought to himself. _She __worked __hard __in __school__. __I __guess __she __should __have __it __good __in __real __life__. _He sighed. _Being __a __book __worm __pays __off __in __the __long __run__, __I __guess__._

"Soul!" Maka shouted. Soul sat up on his bed. "What?"

"Dinner's ready!"

"Okay." Soul walked lazily to the kitchen, taking a seat at their kitchen table. He watched Maka closely as she set their food on the table. She noticed him and looked up at him. "You okay, Soul?"

He nodded briskly. "Tired."

"Okay." His meister knew something was wrong; they had known each other long enough for her to at least know that. But, if he wanted to tell her, he would.

She sat down in front of him. "Well... do you know what you're going to do after graduation?"

He looked up at her, looking absolutely defeated. "...no..."

Maka smiled oddly. "Well, what were you thinking about?"

"I was leaning towards security guard."

Maka nodded, and a smile slowly started to form on her face. "Oh.. well, that sounds-" and she burst out laughing hysterically.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Soul shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she turned around and coughed a few times, taking a a deep breath. "The though of you dealing with... an angry mob..."

"Shut up, Maka! What do you think I should do, then?"

The meister laughed some more, then she stared to calm down. "Well," she said, finally, "I think... you should use your talents."

Soul scoffed. "Thank you, captain obvious."

"A pianist."

He looked up at her. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. You're good."

Soul pondered the idea. He liked playing the piano, but he didn't play in front of people very often. But that was actually a decent idea. "How would I start?"

"You could play at clubs on the weekends. That pays well if you're good, I think."

"Huh." He nodded to himself. A pianist. Soul, the pianist. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Okay." Maka smiled at him. "I'm glad. You know, piano players at clubs are very cool."

Soul smiled at her.

His meister pointed to the mountain of food on his plate. "Now eat!"

Soul nodded and started to eat. Only then did he realize the blow to his intelligence. Maka had thought of a perfect career for him in five minuets, and he thought for close for an hour and came up with nothing.

But Maka had taken a few hours to come up with that. She was just waiting for Soul to finally ask for her help. She knew he would, eventually. Even though he was technically becoming an adult, she knew that he would still be that irresponsible high school kid for a long time after.

"So," Soul said, wanting to take his mind of his future for a moment, "when's your interview?"

"I have to take a few classes first," Maka responded.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How long do you take the classes?"

"A few months."

"So basically we're relying on just me for a few months."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no?'"

"I'm getting a job at a family restaurant in the day and I'm going to school at night."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"You're gonna over work yourself."

"I will not."

"Yeah, you will. I could handle the money, you know."

"I don't want to depend on you."

_That_ struck a nerve. "Why not?"

Maka stopped eating and looked at Soul. "Because."

"What? It's not like I can't support you!"

She stood up and sighed. "Don't fight with me right now."

"Don't fight with you? You just said-"

Maka groaned. "Stop it, Soul! I don't want to have to depend on someone for my whole life, so just... just..." she turned around, taking a breath. "Leave me alone!" She turned, running into her room, before Soul could retort to her.

He stared at her bedroom door for a moment, weighing in his options. He wanted to fight with her more. She could make him so incredibly frustrated sometimes, but others...

He sighed. _I__'__ll __go __easy __on __her__,_ he decided. _Just __this __once__. _But he knew in the morning he was definitely going to chew her out for what she said in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: I like this chapter...

I _will _update every Sunday or Monday. Which would you like better? I think I want to do Mondays, because I hate Mondays, and I would be happier if I posted a new chapter. Would you be happier if you got a new chapter on blue Monday?

Sorry about all the spelling errors in the last chapter. My spell check was having a moment, and I really just wanted to get it online, so I didn't reread it. But I fixed as many as I found when I read it this morning.

To warn you, my writing style will probably change a bit. I started getting a magazine for fiction authors specially, so I've been applying the tips I get to my writing. Did you like the new or the old? You'll have to tell me!

I added a few new characters to this. I feel weird doing it, but the story needed to move, and you meet lots of new people after you graduate!

A THANKS TO: (I love this part, it makes me feel popular!)

Progota and Aurovai are my two favorite people on the planet right now... they reviewed both chapters! I'm glad you are enjoying this :)

I also received an anonymous review again, I think, but I'm not sure at this point. I'm going off my E-mails, and lately I've been missing chunks of my E-mail... so, thank you, who ever you may be!

And Alice Nyte added this to their favorites... I'm proud to be in your favorites, Alice Nyte!

And thank YOU for reading this!

And, on a side note, my boyfriend read this a few days ago, and you're not going to believe what he showed up at my house with after he read it.

A tub of cookie dough.

I believe I have made a good choice.

Why are my a/n so freaking long?

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><p>She wouldn't admit it. She was not going to admit it. She just couldn't admit it. Especially not to <em>him<em>.

But Soul was right.

Maka could tell she was going to end up over working herself.

Now, at first, she genuinely believed that she was actually going to make the whole thing work somehow. Her plan involved very little hours of sleep and only involved school, work, and an hour of whatever she wanted otherwise, but she _actually_ thought it was going to work.

But after her first day of her "plan" in action, she was starting to doubt herself.

Even on her first day, classes to be a teacher were really, incredibly hard. She had more homework than she thought she would, and there were a lot of courses she had to take outside of her original hours of class, since she was the only meister. She didn't like how small her class was, either; there were only three other people in her class, all weapons, and none were even the same gender as her. So she was forced to do her homework alone. When all her classes were over, she had five homework assignments, each around forty questions, each incredibly difficult. Despite this, she did her best to remain cheerful so she wouldn't make a bad impression on her job interview.

This could not have been a more difficult task.

First, the person giving the interview was, what soul would call a bitch. As soon as Maka walked through the door, she knew she was in for it.

"Hi!" A waitress said, smiling widely at her.

Maka smiled widely, but her smile vanished as soon as she got a look at her; long legs, wide hips, big breasts, bleach blond curly hair, and big blue eyes.

"Can I get you a table?" The waitress asked.

Maka swallowed her jealousy and smiled again. "I'm actually here for an interview."

The waitress stopped smiling. "Today?"

"Yes. Is that a problem? I was scheduled-"

"Oh, no, I just..." she cleared her throat. "Thea is doing the interviews today."

"Thea?"

The waitress nodded. She sighed deeply, and put her hand on Maka's shoulder. "Good luck."

Maka stared at the waitress, a startled expression on her face. "Umm, okay, I guess..."

Maka was seated at a booth, and she ordered a hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream to keep herself comfortable. A few minuets after, an older woman walked to Maka's table. She was wearing the apron the waitresses wore, so Maka assumed she worked there. She was nothing but skin and bones, her hair was black with some grey pieces, tied up in a high bun. She was wearing thick glasses, and she wore a grim expression. The woman stared at Maka for a moment, then spoke slowly. "Maka Albarn?"

Maka gasped, sitting up straighter and putting her hands on her knees. "Umm, yes, that's me!" she smiled awkwardly at the woman. "You must be Thea, the waitress from before told me-"

"Yes, yes." Thea sat down across from Maka. She set down a clipboard, and grabbed a pen from a pocket in her apron. She stared at the hot chocolate, the whipped cream sliding down the sides at this point. "Is that... hot chocolate?"

"What?" Maka sat up straight, feeling flustered. "I mean, yes!"

"That's very juvenile, you know."

"Oh, is it?"

"Yes. Adults drink coffee."

Maka smiled, sweat beading down her forehead. _This __is __not __going __well__! __What __should __I __do__?_

"Let's begin the interview." Thea stared at the clipboard, flipping through some papers Maka couldn't see. The silence worsened her anxiety, which was already near it's peak.

"So, miss Albarn, according to your resumé you've just graduated from Shibusen, is that right?"

"Yes."

"That's a school for weapons and meisters, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

"And you graduated at the top of your class. That's very impressive."

"Thank you."

Thea nodded slowly, setting down her clipboard. "Why did you want this job then, miss albarn?"

"Oh, me?" Maka hummed, looking at the ceiling. She had prepared for this question, but she couldn't remember the answer she wanted to give. "Well, I know a few people who have jobs at restaurants, and they seemed to really enjoy them, so I thought that I would do well, and I love to meet new people, and..." Maka gulped. _I __sound __like __an __idiot__! __Stop __talking__!_ "So, I think I would really like it here."

Another slow nod in responce. "How long do you plan on working here?"

"I..." That was a hard one. She didn't know exactly how long she was going to stay there. It could be for a few months, but then again, she might need the job to be able to support herself. She actually had no idea if the income she would make as a teacher would be enough. "I'm not sure."

"Is that so? Why is that?"

"I'm going to become at teacher at Shibusen, and right now I'm going to school to qualify there."

Thea nodded. "Very well," she said, quickly. "Next question!"

Maka jumped. Thea was terrifying.

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><p>Soul wasn't having it much better.<p>

He pounded out the most cheerful piano piece he knew, which wasn't very perky at all. But he was not about to learn a completely new song just for one audition.

He was auditioning for Corner Street, a club which Soul realized was a very nice spot in town. He decided it was a good place to start, since it wasn't the most popular, but it wasn't desolate either. A good 70 or 80 people showed up each night.

Soul slid his fingers across the ivory keys. He glanced up at the club owner for a moment. He was an overweight man, with heavy features and angry eyes. With his black suit, thin grey slicked back hair, and the cigarette hanging out of his mouth, he looked like he belonged in a mob. The ambiance the dark back room of the club really added to the mood. Soul swallowed hard when the club owner looked displeased with his playing. _Damn__, _Soul thought, _this __guy __gives __me __the __creeps__. __I __feel __like __he__'__ll __pull __a __gun __on __me __if __I __screw __up__..._

Soul's song ended, and he sat up straight, looking at the owner. He glanced around the room. There were old tables stacked up in one corner, chairs in another. The rest of the room was nothing but a piano and the folding chair the owner was resting in.

The owner sighed. "You've got a gift, kid." He leaned back, puffing on his cigarette, deep in thought. "I dunno. This is your first try for a gig, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Soul muttered.

The owner nodded. He sat up again, putting his elbows on his knees. "You've definitely got a gift..."

Soul nodded. He always thought he was an average piano player, and a few words from some old guy was not going to change his opinion of himself.

The man stood up, and walked near Soul. Soul stood up, immediately, not about to be intimidated.

The owner gave him a half smile, and inhaled on his cigarette. "You're a wise ass, aren't you?" The man blew smoke onto Soul, who put his hand over his nose and mouth and turned his head away a bit, squinting his eyes in disgust.

"People gotta dance and have a good time, you know? You need a nice jazz piece."

Soul nodded. He didn't want to have a conversation with him. If he was going to be rejected, so be it. He hated it when people sugar coated things. "So what?"

The owner smiled. "Tell you what; come back in a week, and if you got a good song then, I'll let you in. Got it?"

Soul stared at the owner. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Soul received a very hard slap on the back and a terrifying laugh from the club owner. "Good luck, kid!"

Soul nodded, nearly running to get to the door that led to the club. That place gave him chills.

He stepped into the club area, sighing. "That guy..."

"Hey!"

Soul stepped back, seeing another person standing really close to him. He looked him over, and decided he was probably there to audition too. "Oh, uhh, hey." Soul glazed his eyes over his competition. He was taller that Soul, but only by two inches. His black hair that was fairly neat, with a few strands sticking out a little. His dark, thin eyes gave him a mysterious look, and he looked very elegant standing before Soul.

Soul felt crushed. _Dammit__, __dammit__! __This __guy __looks __way __better __than __me__, __and __if __he __plays __better__, __there__'__s __no __way __I__'__ll __get __to __play __here__!_

The guy smiled widely at Soul. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

Soul's anger increased. "Hell no!"

Soul's new rival laughed, waving his hand in the air as if in defence. "Okay, okay, sorry." He stood up straight, putting his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. "So, what's the manager like?"

Soul scoffed, turning his head towards the back room. "He's kinda bitter. He seems okay though."

"That's good. I'm not great at auditions, I always get freaked out and mess up."

"Uh-huh." Soul looked away. He instantly disliked this person. This person was going to take his job, Soul just knew it.

"So, I'm Raavi," the rival said, leaning against the wall.

Soul stared at him for a moment, looking him over. Raavi was a great name for a piano player. "Soul."

Raavi smiled. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go audition, I guess. See you later, Soul!"

"Sure," Soul muttered.

Raavi disappeared into the back room.

Soul groaned and stomped out of the club, grumbling to himself. "Damn that guy, dammit, dammit..." He started up his bike, still muttering. He spent the entire drive complaining about Raavi, the club owner, the way he played, and how annoying it was to learn a new song. He approached the restaurant Maka had an interview at, and saw her sitting on the curb. It was late; the restaurant was already closed. She was sitting under a street lamp, giving her a lonely look. _Maybe __Maka __had __a __better __day __than __me__._

He pulled up near Maka, and looked at her. "Hey."

Maka looked up at him, looking completely defeated. The light from above her didn't go to her favor. "Hey..."

Soul moved back, slightly. "Whoa, you look dead."

"Shut up, Soul!" Maka yelled. She stood up and stomped loudly.

"Well, you look dead!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!"

Soul glared at her, then he sighed. "So, the interview didn't go well."

"It was... stupid!" Maka stomped again. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Soul rolled his eyes. His meister could be so immature sometimes. Then, he noticed something in her hand; a Styrofoam cup with a picture of a mug on the side. Soul bent a bit to get a better look at it. He knew he was right. "Are you drinking coffee?"

Maka stopped, and looked at the cup in her hand. She groaned and slouched over. "Yes."

"You don't drink coffee."

"The stupid interviewer said my hot chocolate was immature or something, so I bought this coffee on my way out so I wouldn't look stupid."

"Do you like it?"

"It tastes like dirt. But I guess I should learn to like it, since I'll need as much extra energy as I can get..."

"What?"

Maka sighed. "I'm so tired... and this isn't even what my full day would be like, I'd be out for a few more hours normally."

Soul smiled to himself. "Idiot."

"I am not an idiot!" Maka glared at Soul. "Well, what was _your_ day like?"

Soul's smile vanished, and he slouched over to match Maka's stance. "It sucked."

Maka nodded. She looked out to the vacant parking lot, and sighed again. "It's really late..."

"Yeah, sorry," Soul muttered. "I couldn't audition until late."

Maka shook her head. "It's okay." Maka stared at the parking lot for a while longer. She gasped and looked at Soul. "I got it!"

"What?"

"I haven't handled you in a few weeks. I miss it." She tightened her first, and looked at Soul. "Change into a weapon."

Soul stared at her. She looked at him with determination on every inch of her face. He sighed. "Fine." He glowed for a moment, before he turned into a scythe. A death scythe, to be exact.

Maka ran into the parking lot, and she firmly grasped her scythe. She held it above her head and spun it, then she moved the spin to her other hand, and finally slammed the end of it into concrete dramatically, never missing a beat. _This __is __it__._ She spun it again, repeating the same motion, except this time she swung at unseen enemies. Her attacks were much more graceful now, since she wasn't fighting against anything. "Soul!" She said, between her swings.

"Yeah?" the weapon responded, his voice distorted in this form.

"I nearly forgot..." she swung the scythe faster, with more energy. "With everything that's going on, I almost forgot about this. What it feels like. To be weapon and meister. No matter what comes between us, no matter what..." She slammed the end of the blade into the ground, a loud clinking sound following. "This is who we are!"

Soul was silent for a moment. Was she right? Were they always going to be like this? Anything could happen at this point. Some part of him thought she was wrong. A part of him knew that something would happen to hurt them. They had been through so much together. Both of them had nearly died for the other. They had been so close to loosing each other more than once. His heart pounded. _We __can__'__t __be __together __forever__. __We __just __can__'__t__._

_But__..._

He smiled. "Yeah." He looked up, still smiling. "No matter what."


	4. Chapter 4

a/n:

I. AM. SO. SORRY.

I can explain though!

So I decided to switch to a different Internet provider, foolish me! By the time they got my router or transmitter or whatever the hell it is in my freaking apartment, the freaking thing didn't have WiFi! So, I had to go out and blow an extra $75 on a freaking WiFi transmitter/router/signal thingy! So here I am, feeling humiliated and betrayed by my Internet company! Please don't disown me! _**I **__**still **__**love **__**you**__**!**_

And, my mother bought me a poster board that's almost a yard long! I have no place to put it! I have no idea what she was thinking!

_**Please **__**review **__**if **__**you **__**would **__**be **__**so **__**kind**__**!**_ I love hearing back, it gives me the stamina to keep writing in the face of an Internet crisis! Do an author a favor, please, I _**LOVE **_hearing what people think. So far I've only received positive feedback. Mix it up for me, beat me up for not updating...

So!

Soul Eater Crazy seriously made my day. They added me to their favorite authors, added Graduation to their favorite stories and to their updates, reviewed... If you can't tell, I'm smiling.

Nadezzhda and S0uleaterevens also reviewed and added this to their favorites. James Dayan, MehBeGianna, Smilesassy1123 and Alik Takeda added this to their story alerts.

I swear, S0uleaterevens, I seriously will read your fan fiction and review. I've been meaning to get around to it, but I barely have time to type Graduation. So, sorry, I'm not blowing you off, I swear! I'll get around to it before my next update. And with my whole Internet craziness, I've been deprived.

And thank _**you**_for reading this!

* * *

><p>Soul slid his fingers over the black and white keys, trying not to play dramatically, as he was prone to. He didn't normally play something so soft, so slow. He didn't like the stereotypical smooth jazz piano piece sound. It was just the same thing, repeating, over and over.<p>

But the pay was good, the tips were great, and the hours were flexible. It would do for now.

The owner held his promise.

A week later, almost to the hour, Soul came back to Corner Street.

_Armed __with __a __smooth __jazz __piece __and __his __best __suit__, __he __was __almost __sure __his __position __had __already __been __filled __by __the __man __he __had __met __before__, Raavi, __but __Soul __wasn__'__t __about __to __back __down__. __He __walked __into __the __club__, __the __owner __sitting __behind __the __bar__. __The __owner __smiled __at __the __weapon__, __the __cigarette __hanging __out __of __the __corner __of __his __mouth__._

_Soul __played__, __as __best __he __could__. __In __the __back __of __his __mind __he t__hought __he __was __being __played__, __toyed __with __for __the __owner__'__s __personal __amusement__._

_When __the __song __finished__, __the __owner __got __up __and __walked __next __to __Soul__, __who __stood __up__, __the __same __way __he __did __last __time__. __At __last__, __the __owner __held __out __his __hand__. "__Name__'__s __Virén__. __Jim__Virén__. __You __get __to __call __me __Virén__."_

_Soul __stared __at __him __for __a __moment__, __then __he __grasped __this__ '"__Jim __Virén__'__s__" __hand__. "__Soul__. __Soul __Eater __Evans__."_

_Virén __chuckled__. "__I__'__m __gonna __give __you __some __real jazz __music__. __Music __for __an __establishment __like __this__! __You __work __on __weekday __nights__. __Got __it__, __kid__?"_

Soul played the repetitive song, and gave a half smile when a couple put a fairly large tip in the coffee mug n the piano with a post-it not with "tips" scrawled on it. The song ended, and he looked at the clock on the wall. His shift was over.

Soul emptied the tips into his pocket and walked to the bar. Virén was chatting up a very uncomfortable looking woman. Soul sighed, resting his head on the bar.

"Nice playing," a familiar voice said to Soul.

Soul knew that voice. That voice that flowed, but as always had that oh-so-perfect air about it that bother Soul so much. It couldn't be him, could it? He looked up, and was all too surprised at who was staring him in the face. "What- Kidd?"

Soul's former classmate smiled at him and lifted his drink in acknowledgement to Soul. "How's your graduated life?"

Soul was in shock for a moment, and just stared at Kidd with a dumbfounded look on his face. Finally, he took a breath. "Kidd, what the _hell_ are you doing in a place like this?"

Kidd sighed, and took a sip of his drink. "Just wanted to get away from the house for a while."

Soul stared for another moment, and then he slumped back over the bar. "You're the last person I expected to see here."

Kidd smiled to himself, amused by Soul's reaction. "Maka told me you were playing the piano here, and I-"

"Maka?" Soul looked back to the Shinigami. "When do you see Maka?"

"She's taking classes to become a teacher at my _father__'__s_ academy." It seemed obvious after Kidd pointed it out. Of course that was it. What else could it be?

"I see her every now and then in the halls," Kidd continued. "We actually talk quite a bit." Kidd noticed that Soul looked like a little bit of color had drained from his face. "You didn't think we were having some kind of secret meeting, did you?"

A bit of red came to the weapon's face this time. "No way! Even if you were, I wouldn't care anyway."

Kidd chuckled to himself. "Of course. Falling in love is very uncool."

"Shut up, symmetry boy."

Kidd glared at Soul for a moment, but he was too upset to yell at him. "It _is _uncool."

"What?"

"Love," he muttered, taking another sip of his drink. "It's not cool at all."

Soul looked at Kidd for a moment. _Hang__on__. _Soul looked over Kidd. He was definitely upset about something. Something serious. "Kidd, did you get dumped or something?"

He didn't speak for a few seconds. "...You could say that." Kidd sighed dramatically. He looked at the clock out of the corner of his eye, then he looked at Soul again. "Maka's shift gets over in half an hour. Don't you think you should get going?"

He looked at the clock. "Crap! See ya, Kidd!" Soul jumped up from his seat and rushed out the door.

Kidd shook his head as his friend left. He sighed, and took a rather long sip of his drink. He twirled the bottle, watching the intoxicating liquid swirl around the glass sides. His reflection was distorted in the curved surface, but he could still see himself. _These __stripes__, _he thought, tugging on the half of his head with the white stripes._You __piece __of __garbage__._ Kidd folded his arms across the table and rested his head. _Disgusting__. __How __could __you __just __let __her __go __like __that__? __Disgusting__, __disgusting__..._

* * *

><p>She wasn't having the greatest time with the bow. She tried to untie it, but her fingers just wouldn't let her grasp the knot right. She struggled more, not about to loose to a mere double knot.<p>

"Is the knot giving you trouble?" The blonde waitress Maka had met on her first day walked into that Mirror's view. She smiled at Maka's reflection, holding her own apron to hang it up.

"Oh, Seraphina!" Maka blushed and turned to face her coworker. "I can get it, don't worry about it!"

Searphina smiled wider. She admired that Maka was so independent, but she could also be so stubborn, and at times a little violent. She had a nasty temper, along with it. After debating what she thought of Maka for the first few days, she decided on "cute" and chose to leave it at that. "Here, let me get it!"

Maka tried to protest, as that would be admitting defeat, but Seaphina insisted. She untied the knot, and handed Maka the apron, her warn smile still on her face. "See? No problem!"

Maka smiled oddly at this slightly odd girl. "Thanks," she said, walking to the closet where they kept their aprons and hanging it up.

Seraphine grabbed Maka's wrist and smiled at her. "Come on, I bet your ride is here!"

"Yours is always here before mine."

The bubbly waitress laughed, and Maka couldn't quite think of what was so funny. They exited the back of the restaurant together, hand-in-wrist.

The girls smiled, and looked at each other.

"He's here!" Seraphina said, pointing at Maka. She ran to her ride home, a tall man with black hair, the ends dyed blue. His eyes were thin and black, and Maka thought he looked a little creepy.

"Baby!" Seraphine wrapped her arms around his neck.

Maka walked over to Soul, who was there too. "Hi, Soul."

"Hey," he responded, glancing from the oddly matched couple to Maka. "Work okay?"

"Yep. How about you?"

"Yeah."

Maka and Soul tired to focus on each other as they noticed the couple's kiss deepen and get louder. Maka cleared her throat. "Did many people come?"

"Yeah, it was actually a pretty good crowd. Oh, you're never going to believe who I saw at-"

"Maka!" Seraphina shouted loudly, immediately getting Soul and Maka's attention. "You never told me you had a boyfriend!"

"What?"

"No!" Maka held out her hand, her eyes wide. "He is _not_ my boyfriend!"

Seraphina cocked her head to the side, the mess of blonde curls bouncing on her head. "He's not?"

"No way!"

"But," She pointed to the two of them with such enthusiasm, as if this were a new and exciting discovery, "You two are standing so close to each other!"

They both looked at their feet, and realized they _were_ really, really abnormally close to each other. Their eyes met, both of their faces turned red, and they stepped simultaneously back.

"Sorry," Maka said, fiddling with her hands.

"No problem," Soul muttered. He cleared his throat, and he looked back up in Maka's direction, but he couldn't look into her eyes. "So, let's go then," he said, as coolly as he could possibly muster against all his embarrassment.

"Sure," Maka replied. She smiled awkwardly at Soul and followed him out of the restaurant.

"See you on Monday, Maka!" The meister's blunt coworker called after her, waving with an annoying amount of zest. Maka waved slightly at her, wanting very much to put a book-sized dent in the girl's head.

Soul started up his bike, and Maka hopped on behind him.

"Damn, that girl is annoying!" Soul said, brushing his hair back.

"She's okay if you bet to know her," Maka replied. "She means well. She's just-"

"Annoying?"

"Loud," she gave Soul her trademark glare. "Stupid."

"Shut up." The weapon started the bike and sped off, the tires squealing against the pavement beneath them.

Maka yelled and clutched her arms around his waist tightly. "Soul, be careful, you're gonna get us killed!"

"I am not," his thoughts stopped after he said this, becoming acutely aware of Maka's chest against his back. His gaze wandered to her as she held onto him and looked out to Death City as they sped through the streets. The breeze pushed her dress farther up than he was used to, exposing nearly all of her legs.

Her long, elegant, slender legs.

His eyes snapped back to the road. She was his meister, for god's sake! He couldn't think something like that about her. Not only was she his meister, she was basically his best friend. Such thoughts were out of the question.

Even so, Seraphina's comment hung n his mind. They weren't just school kids. They were older now, and Maka wasn't that bookworm at school anymore. She grew up, and so did he.

Then it hit him.

"Maka?" He blurted out, not thinking about how odd he would sound if he asked her.

"What?" She responded.

"...Do you..." He swallowed hard. What an odd question to just ask so suddenly! But, he had to ask her, for her sake! "...So, uhh, do people ever hit on you at work?"

She didn't speak. "...Why?"

"Curious."

"Sometimes."

"Huh." _What __if __some one __asks __her __out__? _His mind turned over the thought. _What __would __I __do__? __It__'__s __not __like __I __wouldn__'__t __want __her __to __be __happy__, __but __that __would __be__..._ He looked at her again. She had a sweet smile, beautiful green eyes, and a nice figure. She was a waitress now, which would introduce her to lots of new people. There was no way she wasn't going to capture some one's attention. Someone was going to like her.

Someone could even fall in love with her.

"Soul?"

His mind snapped back into place. He looked over his shoulder a bit to Maka, and he looked into her green eyes. _She __really __is __pretty__, __I __guess__. __How __come __I __didn__'__t __notice __it __before__? _He looked into her eyes with a new found tenderness, and the distress that someone could actually take her away from him and there wouldn't be anything he could do about it.

She moved her head back. "What?"

"What what?"

"You're looking at me weird."

"I am not."

"...Well, what I was going to say is you passed the apartment.

Soul looked down the street behind him, and he saw their apartment building turn into a speck. "...Oh."


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone! I'm eating a snickers bar!

I'm adding a chapter ASAP instead of following an "always on Monday!" type of thing so I can make up for my epic update fail last time. My apologies once more!But, this one is extra long, and I added a little something-something in this one...

Did anyone else notice that I spelled Seraphina quite a few different ways in the last chapter? The one I just used is correct.

Onto my thank you section, which will be condensed so I can just get to the story! I doubt anyone reads this, but I feel like I owe the people who read this something!

Thank YOU for reading this! Please review, I love hearing what you think!

My review-ers: Progota, s0uleaterevans, Aurovai, Kikyo539, and MusicSoundsMySoul 14! I love reviews, I do read and enjoy them all, especially the long ones. You should write one, or I'll take your soul! (I want to figure out how to slip that into a conversation someday. That would be the most amazing thing I've ever said, seriously, I would never get over it.)

Anyway, I got a favorite story from MusicSoundsMySoul 14, Kikyo539, sk8lyn123, kuro-neko-chan199, and silent-1-piano. Thanks for that very much! You're amazing!

And MarkOfTheRaven added this to their story subscription! You're also amazing!

* * *

><p>"God dammit, Raavi!" Soul shouted as he looked up at his rival. "Go away!"<p>

"But I just bought another drink!" Raavi held up a brown tinted glass bottle in Soul's face. "This was expensive, I'm drinking it."

"Why are you here, anyway?" Soul groaned and was very tempted to ask the bartender for an alcoholic drink. He resisted his temptation, but Raavi was still in his face. "Leave me alone, dammit!"

The pianist put his hand up to his face, as if hiding his tears. "Why, Soul," he said, pretending to sob, "you're so cold! Honestly, I thought... I thought..."

"Oh, shut up! Are you gay or what?"

Raavi went back to his usual self and glared as chilling a glare the naturally happy man could muster. Soul thought it comical, comparable to a seven year old trying to stare you down, even thought Raavi was six inches taller than Soul. "I am not gay. You're the one with bleached hair."

"It's not bleached, it's naturally like that!"

"Whatever you say, man."

"It is!" Soul rolled his eyes, not wanting to fight with him. Soul had just finished his shift and Virén had asked him to stay. He didn't give an explanation, he just had to stay so Virén could talk to him. So, Soul sat at the bar drinking a soda and pondered what could possibly be so important to keep him after work. Now he was late to pick up Maka. And then this guy showed up.

As if it couldn't get worse.

Soul discovered that Raavi was really, really energetic and could show heaps of enthusiasm for even the simplest things. He was agreeable, easy going, and handsome. He was talented, too, at playing the piano, guitar, and singing. Aside from being so dramatic, there was hardly a flaw about him.

Soul was really, incredibly annoyed by him.

"So, Soul," Raavi said to his rival, "do you have any idea why we're supposed to be here?"

Soul opened his mouth to try and get Raavi to close his, but he stopped himself. "You got asked to meet Virén too?"

"Yep," he responded. "I work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

This nearly fearless death scythe's heart felt like it just sunk into the pit of his stomach. "You're gonna take my job."

"What?"

Soul slammed his head into the bar and groaned, loudly. "Dammit, why can't something just go smoothly for me?"

Raavi smiled at Soul and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I don't think I'm taking your job! Don't worry about it, man!"

"Take your hand off my shoulder, _now_."

Raavi swiftly moved his hand to grasp his drink, and he sighed awkwardly. He looked at Soul for a moment, then he looked ahead again. "Hey, man-"

"Hey, my piano players!"

Soul and Raavi instantly looked up at their boss, Raavi with a warm smile and Soul with the look of a dead man.

"Get back here!" Virén yelled loudly, getting the attention of the whole club.

The two walked to the back of the club, the same place both of their auditions took place. Virén gestured to the folding chairs he set up in that cluttered back room, and Soul and Raavi took their seats. Virén sat across from them, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. "Glad you two girls could make it." He took a puff on his cigarette, and slowly blew smoke in the two "girl's" direction. "The club hasn't been doing too great lately, ya know."

Raavi nodded, while Soul just sat still and stared intensely at his boss. It all seemed clear to him; he was going to loose his job. Raavi was starting to lean toward the possibility that he himself would loose his job, too.

Virén waited for a response, then he continued; "You two playing really gets business goin' for me, ya know? A fresh new act in town. You bring in some people who are gonna buy drinks, eat, and make us money. But lately we aren't doing great on funds. If something doesn't give, I'll have to close down, and that's the last thing I wanna do."

"What's going on?" Raavi said, an anxious look on his face. "Are we loosing our jobs? Without this gig, I'd-"

"No, no!" Virén shook his head. "I want you boys to play here more."

Soul stared blankly at his boss, looking for any signs of deception. "Really?"

"Really."

"You're shitting me!" Raavi shook his head. "I can't, I have three other jobs, I don't have time to-"

"Then Soul has to pay three times as much as he does now."

Raavi looked at his red eyed friend anxiously. "Ah man, Soul..."

Soul glanced at Raavi for a moment, but looked forward a second later. "Don't look at me like that. I've got nothing against gays, but getting those looks from you is freaky."

"I'm not-"

"Whoa, Raavi, you're gay?" the boss chuckled. "I never thought you to be the type."

"I'm not gay!"

There was a knock at the door.

Everyone looked at the door, completely lost as to who on earth could be at the door. "The hell?" Virén muttered, then he raised his head and shouted "Yeah, it's open!"

The door opened slowly, and everyone was completely shocked when a blonde head with green eyes poked into the room. "Sorry about this..." she said, timidly.

Soul stood up from his chair and started in the direction of her. "Maka! What are you doing?"

The timid and sweet look in her eyes changed immediately to an upset nature when Soul came towards her. "You're more than an hour late to get me. What do you think I'm doing?"

He stopped short, put his hands behind his head and cocked his head to the side with an arrogant manner. "Well, hey, I had some important work stuff I had to do. It's uncool to get mad when I couldn't do anything."

"Soul, you asshole!" Virén looked at Maka over Soul's shoulder. "He could of gotten you if he wanted, I would of let him go."

The weapon looked to his boss and was about to retort that he didn't know, but he suddenly felt as though his life was in danger. He turned to look at Maka, whose eyes near glowed with a homicidal intention towards him. "So, you forgot me, and then you _lied_ to me?"

"I didn't think-"

"MAKA CHOP!"

Soul fell to the ground, a peculiar rectangular indent in his head.

Raavi gasped and looked at Maka, his thin eyes widening. "Whoa, girl, you can kick some serious ass!"

"Of course I can," she retorted, bending her arm so her book rested against her shoulder. "I am a meister, after all."

"No way! I knew a weapon!"

"Oh, really? Who was it?"

"Her name as Patty!"

"I know her, she's Kid's weapon!"

"Oh, Shinigami's son, right? I never had the chance to meet him."

"They're really close friends of mine, actually. How did you meet Patty?"

"I saw her at a store and I talked to her, and I thought she was pretty cool. I liked how insane she was, you know?"

"Yeah!"

"But, oh man, a meister? That's intense! You must be really amazing!"

"Oh, not really."

"Aww, sure you are! You're cute, but you aren't some wuss. That's pretty amazing anymore, you know? I like it."

The meister's face tinted read, and she put her hands behind her back and fidgeted a bit. "Oh, well, thank you."

Soul stood up, rubbing his head, and looked at Maka. "Can we go?"

"Sure," Maka said, helping her weapon stand up. "It's your turn to make dinner."

Soul groaned. "Really not cool. Takeout?"

"Sure," Maka said, shrugging her shoulders. "You're paying though."

"Fine."

"Who," Raavi said, holding up his hands, "Sorry Soul, I didn't mean to hit on your girl!"

Soul turned around, and stared at Raavi. "Yeah."

"What?" Maka looked at Raavi and smiled warmly. "We're not together."

"Really?" Raavi smiled back at her. "Well, how about we hang out sometime?"

"Maka, let's go!" Soul grabbed Maka's arm and dragged her out of the club, ignoring her protests to stay. It was cold, dark, without a single star in the cloudy sky to just add to Soul's mood. He got on his bike and started it, still ignoring her. "Get on," he yelled, "or I'll go without you, and you'll have to walk the whole way home!"

"What?" Maka put her hands on her hips and glared at Soul. "What's your problem? Are you mad at me because I was talking to Raavi?"

"No way!" Soul looked away from her. "You're just stupid!"

Maka glared at him. Her mind tossed what she wanted to do around a bit. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why Soul was so angry with her, when she should be angry with him. He did leave her at work, outside, in the cold for an entire hour until she decided to walk to the club. But, the club was only a half mile from the restaurant, and their apartment was a couple miles from there. Her anger clouded her judgment, and Soul's clouded his. "Fine!" She shouted. "Leave!"

Soul stared at her in amazement, but just briefly. "Fine! I hope you get sick walking home!"

"I hope you crash your stupid bike!"

Soul sped off, Maka covering her eyes as he did to shade them from the gravel his tire sent flying at her. She watched him go for a minuet, then she took a breath. "You _bastard_!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her eyes stung, and she choked back her tears. "I _hate you_! Stupid Soul!" She kicked some rocks in the direction of him, but he was a mere speck on the horizon by now. Her heart pounded from her rage.

After kicking up more dirt and more yelling, she had calmed down enough to think straight. She looked down the road, and sighed deeply to herself. It was dark, cold, late, and there wasn't even a star or moon to light her way. The street lamps and buildings lit her way, but it gave everything a very ominous look. She decided she didn't have much of a choice than to start the long trek home. Any of her friend's houses were just as far, if not farther. So, she began to walk.

She walked briskly, still annoyed with Soul. But, she soon discovered that in a short dress like she was wearing, walking slowly was the best way to stay warm. She shuddered. _Stupid Soul,_ she thought, _Stupid for leaving me here. How could he just leave like that? I'll probably catch a cold at this rate!_

She stopped. There was a bit of a scraping coming from the direction of an alley on the other side of the sidewalk. She turned in the direction, as she was a fearless meister. "Who's there?" She called. She was prepared to fight whatever it was and was about to look for its soul when she realized something.

She didn't have Soul.

The confidence she had disappeared in a matter of seconds. She was a good fighter on her own, but with Soul, she was unstoppable. There was no way she would be able to take on someone, say a witch, on her own. Her chest pounded as she heard the scraping again. It was something rubbing against the wall of the alley. She heard it coming closer, and tired to sense it's soul. But her fear clouded her senses.

A deformed shadow spread across the opposite wall of the alley. Sweat dripped down Maka's face. _Concentrate, concentrate! _

She couldn't do it. The creature started to step into view. _What should I do?_

With her heard pounding, it crept slowly into Maka's view. She studied it, closely, and then she took a breath. "No way."

A white and fluffy dog that couldn't weight more than 40 walked out of the alley. It looked up at Maka with its big brown eyes and let out a playful bark to Maka.

She hunched over, feeling foolish. "It's... a puppy." She banged her palm against her forehead, and sighed again. "This atmosphere isn't working to my advantage..."

The puppy suddenly yelped and jumped into the air. Maka looked at it, feeling slightly angry at it for scaring her, but she soon abandoned those feelings. It was a puppy, after all, how can you stay mad at a puppy jumping up?

It did it again, this time shaking its head instead of jumping.

"What's wrong, boy?" Maka asked, bending over a bit to meet the dog's height more.

Rain started to pour down from the sky.

The meister closed her eyes, and hunched over, completely defeated."Now I get it."

She looked down the sidewalk, then to the puppy. "I'll see you later, okay?"

It barked back at her, which cheered her up a little bit.

She started to walk again, hoping that she really would see that dog again someday.

And so, dispite the rain, wind and cold, she walked home.

But she could tell after the first mile she was taking on a greater task than she could possibly manage.

Her whole body was numb, her legs and chest ached. She was completely drenched in water. She was disgusted with the way the water soaked literally every article of fabric on her, feeling slimy with every step she took. She pulled her pigtails out of her hair, since they were barely in at this point anyway. Her hair clung into her neck and face, and whenever she blinked, water would spring off her eyelashes. To be perfectly honest, she looked rather pathetic on the sidewalk at that moment, her arms wrapped around herself and her hair hanging in her face. But on that particular gloomy night, there were none of the good citizens that she had been hoping for to offer her a ride to her apartment.

Her chest felt like there was someone pounding with an immense amount of force on the inside. She coughed a few times, and she knew right away she had a cold.

She sighed. She had only been walking for half an hour, and she was already miserable. She watched helplessly as cars passed her, wishing with every inch of her being that they would stop, a few splashing mud on her white dress. But she didn't care at this point, she already had to wash it out.

A headlight started to come towards her, and she was blinded for moment before the driver switched to the dimmer lights. She stared at the vehicle, void of any hope. But, to her amazement, the vehicle started to slow down. She smiled widely, and walked towards the car. But, she realized it wasn't a car at all.

"Hey," Soul said, "you look terrible."

She stared at him. She felt like garbage. He was completely right, she did look terrible. She felt terrible. She felt so terrible, she wasn't even mad at Soul. "Soul... You... you idiot..." She looked at the ground, feeling tears swell up in her eyes.

Soul looked her over, surprised by her tears. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know!" She shouted. She gave him a Maka chop lightly on his head, giving him a bit of a smile.

"Wanna go home?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets. "You're gonna get soaked, but you'll only be out here for a few minuets instead of hours."

"I'm already soaked!" She yelled. "Stupid!"

He shrugged. "Okay, I'll just leave you here."

"No! Soul, get on your stupid bike!"

She half smiled to himself. "Yeah."

Maka took her rightful place behind him on his bike, and Soul started to go towards their apartment. Maka struggled to stay up straight, she was feeling rather weak after being in the rain, and she was tired and felt like crying. Soul looked at her, rolling his eyes at her childish efforts to stay up. "You can rest against me if you want," he said as innociently as he possibly could.

Maka didn't hesitate to take him up on his offer and draped her arms around his waist, laying against him and yawning. "I'm so tired, Soul."

"Yeah, I noticed."

Soul heard her breathing start to steady after a moment, her breaths deeper and longer. He half smiled. "I told you, you're overtired."

Ten minuets later, he was pulling up to his apartment. He carefully took Maka off his bike, holding her in his arms, her head resting against his chest. He carried her up to the apartment (he had quite the battle with the door) and walked to the apartment. He looked own at her, water dripping off her. _She needs to change her clothes, _he thought. He was about to wake her up, but he stopped himself. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful as she slept. He sighed to himself, feeling bad. It was his fault this happened, and she could easily get sick now. His mind flashed back to Maka talking to Raavi, how immediately he wanted to leave.

He needed to face facts.

_You were mad, _he thought, _because he could take her. But not just because she's your meister. Dammit, you're so uncool. _

Soul studdied his Meister for a moment. She was beautiful.

He leaned over her and stole a kiss from her.

"Maka," he said immediately after, "Get up, you'll catch a cold."

Her eyes fluttered open. "Soul?"

His heart leapt. It was so uncool to have your heart leap over such a bookworm saying your name!

Saying it so slowly, so gently...

He cleared his throat. "Go change, or you'll get sick and you'll have to miss your classes and work."

"Right," she muttered, stumbling to her feet. "Night, Soul."

"Night... Maka."


	6. Chapter 6

I suck. I forgot about updates, so I just wrote and wrote and wrote... it's longer, which should make up for it, I guess.

I promise there's no lemon in this, it's just suggestive.

I'm too tired (it's 2 in the morning) to do a thank you. You're appreciated as much as you always are if you R&R or favorited or anything. Love you~

* * *

><p>Maka's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. Sweat started to bead on her forehead, and she took a breath to relax herself. <em>Calm down, <em>she thought to herself. At that moment, serenity seemed like an impossible state to reach. She felt desperate. She glanced up at Soul, but just for a millisecond. She started to squirm a little, playing with the long sleeve of her white shirt.

"Don't stress out," Soul said. Maka was the type of person to worry about something like this, but he was far too cool for that. After all, he had been in this situation before. "Just confess."

"But..." Maka swallowed hard. "Alright. I... I..." She sighed. How could she admit to something like that? It was too much! She never had a problem like this before!

But, oh, to say it Soul! It was an impossible task! She had always been a model student. Soul wasn't, to be nice, so he probably didn't think it was a big deal. In her mind, it was a huge deal. It was a larger than life deal. She took a breath, and said it.

"I... Soul..." She looked up into his red eyes, an intense look in her own green ones, "I... I don't know the answer."

Soul nodded and tapped the part of her notes that contained the answer. "It's a soul chain."

"Dammit!" Maka put her head on the table in front of the couch, sighing again. "I am going to fail this test!"

"That's the only one you got wrong out of the 30 questions I already asked you!" Soul put her notebook on the table. "That's..." He looked up with a perplexed expression. "Let's see, 29 out of 30..."

Maka waited patiently as Soul sorted out a relatively complicated division problem in his head. He would count of his fingers every now and then. He looked up at her, a confident look on his face. "About 97%."

"96.7%, rounded to the nearest tenth," Maka responded plainly. "96 and two thirds to be exact."

"Smart ass."

She stared at him, feeling a little impressed with his math. "That was really close. How did you get that?"

"I added 29 three times to be out of 90, then I added ten."

Maka stared at him for a moment, thinking his method through. "Well, I guess it worked for that problem."

Soul glared at her for a moment, but her large green eyes looking back at him sent a surge through his body. After he kissed her that night, he was having a little trouble acting naturally around her. They could talk like they always had, but as soon as she brushed against him, his mind would race to a completely different place. If he looked her in the eyes too long, his face would heat up to a ridiculous temperature and he could barely breath correctly. He had sweet thoughts about her, about how cute she was, how sweet her smile was, how deep her eyes were. But, occasionally his mind would wander a bit. He hated to admit it, but he couldn't help but wonder what her skin would feel like against his. He would try to catch himself, but getting rid of a thought like that took a couple minuets.

Things that he barely noticed about her suddenly caught his eye. The one that was the most apparent was her stretching. When she stood, she would reach her arms up as far as she could, which would push her chest out a little bit. But, that was just moderate torture.

Was she stretched when she was sitting, she would lean back and support her back on the top of the chair. The most noticeable part of her was once more her breasts.

Needless to say, Soul had to come up with some pretty insane excuses about why he kept getting nosebleeds for no reason.

Soul especially loved the way she looked when she concentrated. She would narrow her eyes and keep a neutral expression, which was very sexy. He couldn't help but stare, she was so beautiful. With her final exams coming up to be a teacher, it was a daily occurrence for her to study, and Soul had a chance to study her.

With his new found feelings for Maka came a few new feeling towards other people. Raavi also was viewed as a "dick-head" which was the creative title Soul came up with all on his own. Raavi wouldn't have bothered Soul so much if it weren't for how much he touched Maka when she was ay arms length. He would put his hand on her shoulder, slide his fingers over her arm, and he hugged her in a greeting every time he saw her. Soul wanted to gouge his eyes out, but he refrained. He found himself to feel a little jealous of any guy who talked to her and got her to laugh at his jokes. Telling jokes was completely uncool, but he loved the way she laughed. And, he never noticed how many times Maka got hit on. One day Soul came to get Maka at work earlier than normally (he would never admit it was just to watch her at work), and he saw three guys checking her out. Once, a man walked up to her and took her hand. Soul wasn't really worried about many of the guys checking her out, since Soul knew he was a much better catch then they were, and Maka was too work bound to notice the ones that actually stood a chance against him. But this guy was better looking, with blonde hair and perfect bangs, messy enough, but neat enough, with blue eyes that looked so friendly. He basically walked in and said "here I am!" to Maka, so there was no he was going unnoticed. He looked into her eyes and said dramatically, "Are you okay?"

Maka stared at him, a bewildered look on her face, and said, "Umm, yes."

"Well," he moved a little closer to her, "Didn't it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

_How lame, _Soul thought. _She'd never go for- no way!_

Maka blushed and looked away, a bit of a smile on her face. "Oh, uhh,"

"MAKA!" Soul jumped up, giving his meister a look of raw anger. However, he didn't think through that he would her the attention of the whole restaurant.

Maka glared at him, the blond still holding her hands, and sighed. "What?"

Soul opened his mouth to speak. _...Shit. _He hadn't thought of a valid excuse! "We... we have to leave!"

Maka sighed. "Sure, fine."

Maka's first reaction to Soul's odd behavior was concerns to his mental health. But after a week, she started to worry about him physically, which didn't help his problem in the slightest. She would stand closer to him and examine him. With a racing heart and red face, he would barely respond, "What?" And she would tell him why she was concerned.

"Come on, Soul," Maka said, picking up her things. They got up earlier than usually, since Maka forced Soul to study with her.

Today, she had her final exam.

Her day at the academy was only three hours long, since the only thing to do that day was take the test and wait for them to be graded. Soul took the day off so he could wait for the scored to be posted with her and celebrate about passing the exam, which he was certain she would.

Soul gave her a ride to Shibusen. She was silent the whole way there, going through the material in her head. When she got there, she gave Soul an intense look. He simply smiled at her, confident in her abilities. "Good luck. I'll be here when testing is over."

"Okay," Maka said. "See you."

Soul nodded and drove off. He wanted to get some breakfast, and he figured he could just eat on the steps of the academy. He didn't have anything else to do, anyway.

* * *

><p>Soul sat on the steps of Shibusen, taking unusually small bites out of a bacon and egg sandwich. He looked out to the city, an odd feeling washing over him. <em>Damn. It's been six weeks since I last came here. It feels like forever...<em> He gave a bit of a half-smile to the memories he had. Some were good memories. The dances at school, the lessons. Learning to fly with Maka, finally mastering Soul Resonance.

Becoming a Death Scythe.

His thoughts wandered to Maka. His mind started to piece things together he hadn't thought of before. How long had he been in love with Maka? Maybe he had been for a long time. Whenever someone got hurt, his first instinct was to yell for them. But, when _she_ was hurt, he would call out her name, over and over. He would give his life for her.

Yep.

He was definitely in love with her a long, _long_ time ago.

"Soul!"

The silver haired weapon looked up, thinking he was hearing things, but sure enough he was right as to who owned that voice. "Hey, Black Star!" Soul jumped up, running over to the blue haired assassin, Tsubaki following close behind.

"Soul!" They high-fived each other, smiling widely. "long time no see!"

"Yeah." Soul looked around Black Star to his weapon, who had the same smile she always had. "Hey, Tsubaki."

"Hi!" She said, cheerfully. "Good to see you."

"What are you guys doing here?" Soul muttered, pushing his shoulders back.

"We work here. Remember?"

Soul scoured through his memory for a moment, before he remembered the conversation they had a week before graduation. "Oh, yeah! How's that going?"

Black Star smiled widely. "These guys would be lost without me, I'm telling you! Right, Tsubaki?"

"Yep!" She responded.

"I'm sure," Soul muttered. "You never change."

Black Star's egotistic manner suddenly changed to something of concern, which was a rare occurrence. "Did you hear about what happened with Kid?"

"What?" Soul looked at his friend intently. "He's not hurt, is he?"

"Not physically. Liz ran off with some guy."

Soul's eyes widened. He liked Liz, she was cool. She didn't seem the type to just turn on her meister like that. "No way!"

"Yeah," the assassian continued. "She was dating this guy behind Kid's back. I guess he convinced her to run away with him or something."

"Yeah," Tsubaki said. "Kid was heartbroken. He won't even come to the academy, he too heartbroken. We got him to come here one day, but he couldn't take it..."

"That explains it!" Soul said. "At the place I work, I saw him one day downing beers like was water. He looked pretty heartbroken." Soul let out a puff of air, shocked at the sudden news. "That's a lot to swallow."

Tsubaki nodded. "We were all really surprised. Liz must have really loved this guy."

Soul nodded. Suddenly, a thought came to him. "Hang on, lots of weapons and meisters separate after graduation. How come was Kid so broken up over it?"

"Duh," Black Star said, putting his hands behind his head so his amrs stuck out. "He was in love with Liz."

"What? No way!"

"Why else would he be so sad? He loved her."

Tsubaki sighed. "It's almost tragic, really. If he would have only told her how he felt, I'm sure none of this would have happened..."

Soul's head felt like it was spinning. So, Liz was gone, and Kid was in love with Liz. "Do you think she loved him too?"

"Of course!" Tsubaki nodded reassuringly. "Kid was very harsh on people, but we all know he means well. It'd be hard to notice he was in love unless he said it outright."

Soul nodded, doing his best to take it all in. "That's though. Hope he ends up okay."

Tsubaki nodded.

An odd silence hung between the three for a moment. Suddenly Black Star laughed his terrifying laugh, getting Soul to jump back a bit. "Enough about Kid! A few days ago, Tsubaki and I took down a witch!"

"No way! Nice!"

"Of course! I am the amazing Black Star, after all! It didn't stand a chance!"

Tsubaki smiled at her meister, feeling a bit of pride for the accomplishment. They were barely even injured, and it was a very powerful witch. "So, Soul," Tsubaki said, "What are you doing here?"

Soul looked to Tsubaki, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "She has exams today, so I took the day off. She only needs me here for when they put up the scores, but I figured I would support her out here."

"That's sweet!"

Soul shrugged. "This thing is a big deal. She studies every night. There's no way she won't get a 100."

"She was at the top of our graduating class," Black Star said simply. "She'll probably be at the top of this thing too."

"Yeah." Soul looked up at them, remembering he and Maka planned to go celebrate. "Hey, we're going to go eat after she gets out. You two should come with."

"We can't," Black Star said. "We have a date."

"Oh, that's too- A DATE? What the hell? You two are going out?"

Tsubaki's face started to turn red, and Black Star smiled recklessly, but Soul noticed a tint of pink of Black Star's face. "Damn straight!"

Soul looked at Tsubaki, putting on his best sympathetic face. "You could do so much better."

Tsubaki was taken back by the notion, but Black Star slipped in the first response. "Shut up! I'm going to surpass god! There is no one who she deserves more than me!"

"Sure, sure. Damn, I feel left out. Liz and Kid are in love, you two are going out."

Black Star shrugged. "So date someone."

"I'll think about it," Soul said, a half-smile appearing on his face.

Tsubaki gasped. "Soul, are you in-"

A large bell on Shibusen sounded, and Soul cursed silently to himself. "I'll miss it! I gotta go!" He turned and sprinted in the direction of the building.

Black Star scoffed a bit. "Geez, he blew you off!"

"It's okay," Tsubaki said.

"What were you gonna say?" Black Star questioned.

"Nothing," she responded.

"What? Tell me!"

"You'll find out." Tsubaki smiled widely.

Black Star looked at Tsubaki as she smiled, and he smiled too. He reached over and took her hand. Tsubaki gasped a bit, her face turning red. "B-Black St-"

"You're lucky. You get to hold the amazing Black Star's hand!" He laughed. "You're really, really lucky!"

Tsubaki looked down, hints of blush still on her face. "You're right, I am lucky..."

* * *

><p>Soul ran into the hall, looking for Maka among the other people waiting for their scores. There were no normal students in the hall, so it felt strange. He spotted Maka, and ran over to her. "Maka!"<p>

She looked up, surprised, and smiled when she saw Soul. "They're almost here!"

"Yeah, sorry!" He ran next to her and stood close to her. "Nervous?"

She nodded.

"Think you did okay?"

She nodded again. "I knew the answer to every question."

Soul smiled at her, feeling proud to know her. "Then why are you nervous?"

She didn't speak. "Soul?" She said, softly and slowly.

His heart skipped a beat. The way she said his name was too much for him to act natural. He took a breath, trying to calm down. "Y-yeah?" He mentally cursed himself for stuttering.

"What if I don't make the top?"

Soul's anxiety suddenly feld from him. "What?"

She smiled a bit, looking away from her weapon. "I... I have to make the top. That's all I can..." She sighed, and looked back to the wall.

Soul didn't speak. _Is making the top really that important to her? Who cares about the top? She's a genius anyway. She's perfect! _Soul looked at Maka. She looked so worried. Soul moved his eyes to the wall the scores would be posted at. "I'll still love you."

Maka looked at him, her heart tightening. _Did he just say... _"What?"

"I'll still love you..." Soul sighed.

He couldn't.

"You know, as a friend." He felt like stabbing himself, repeatedly. How could he change it to "as a friend?" He was so close, so incredibly close! He just had to screw everything up!

Maka took a deep breath, grasping her hands together. "Here it comes..."

Soul watched as a man came out with a large sheet of white paper. He pressed it against the wall, and the mass of people gravitated to the paper. There was a large bold line down the center of the paper, separating those who passed and those who didn't. Maka struggled to get to the list, but the people around her stopped her. She looked around for Soul, but he was no where in sight. Her heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. "S-Soul! Where are you?" She walked through, and she suddenly found herself next to the list.

"Hey," Soul said, gasping her arm.

Maka turned to him and smiled at him. "Found you."

He smiled at her. "Ready?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

They both looked at the list. Their eyes traveled up the paper, reading over each name, until...

Maka turned away. "I..."

Soul smiled at her, wider then before. "You made it!"

She smiled widely. "I made it."

"Let's go celebrate!"

Maka looked at the floor, closing her eyes. "Let's just go home, please. I'm so tired."

"Sure, whatever you want." He took his keys out of his pocket and gasped Maka's wrist, not wanting to loose her in the crowd.

The struggled through the sea of people. Finally, Soul saw the doors. He pushed them open and made it to the bike.

Maka looked at it with displeasure. "This is one of those times I wish we had a car."

"A _car_?" A car had nothing against his bike! Everyone had a car. But a motorbike? The was unique, and it fit his personality. Not to mention he spent all that money on the leather clothes. "What's wrong with my bike?"

"I'm so tired, I don't know if I can hold onto you. If I fall off, I'll die."

Soul rolled his eyes. "Gimme a break. Get on."

Maka hopped on, putting her arms around Soul's waist. He started to drive, doing his best be careful on corners so Maka wouldn't _actually_ fall off. He pulled up to the apartment, and Maka yawned.

"You stayed up too late studying," Soul muttered as he opened the door to the apartment.

"Shut up," Maka said, walking past him as he held the door open for her. She walked into her room, so Soul sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. A moment alter, she returned, a book in her arms. She sat next to Soul and started to read while he watched TV.

Soul tried to focus on the television, but with Maka near him, he was half watching TV, half looking at Maka. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. After a while, he wasn't even watching the TV at all. He loved how she looked when she concentrated.

He looked at her a lot while she read. She was always so engrossed in her book, she never noticed. Soul knew, so when it came to stealing glances at her, it was barely even a glance. More like stealing long stares.

But, today, she must have been a little more alert. She looked up into his red eyes, the look of consentration still on her face. Soul felt his heart stop for a moment, but it started again when she sopke. "What?"

"There's something on your face," he said quickly. He looked at the TV. "it's in the corner of your mouth."

Maka rubbed her face a little, then looked at Soul. "Is it gone?"

He looked at her, but he was too nervous to look for too long. "Yeah."

Maka went back to her book, skimming her eyes over the words. She half-smiled. She _had _to give Soul a hard time about that. She was positive it was just because of what was on her face, but she couldn't let him off that easy. She thought of what to say, and she remembered something she heard in a novel once. "You know what Soul?"

He looked at her again, still feeling a little embarrassed. "What?"

"If you look at me like that too long, you might just fall in love with me."

His heart leapt. _Holy shit. _He blinked a few times, unsure of what to say to her. "I would... no way."

Maka laughed a bit. "I know." She went back to her book. "Not than anyone would fall for me, anyway."

"What?"

"Oh, you know. No one wants some loud, aggressive tiny tits as a girlfriend."

Soul stared at her in disbelief. "That' not true! Guys drool over you while you're at work all the time!"

"I bet Seraphina is standing next to me," she said smoothly.

"What? Someone used a pick up line on you a couple days ago!"

"Soul, just stop!" Maka turned to look at him. How could she be so dense? Her eyes shimmered in the living room light as she looked intensely at her weapon. "I don't want to fall in love anyway!"

Soul looked into her emerald green eyes, and they looked so hurt. Like something had been cut out of her. She handled all her problems alone. She wouldn't ask for help. She wouldn't accept help, either. She wouldn't depend on anyone. She probably had parts of her that didn't trust anyone.

She wouldn't fall in love.

That was it.

Soul leaned forward, and Maka didn't move. She assumed he was trying to intimidate her.

"You're so dense." Soul muttered. He quickly closed the distance between their lips.

Maka hummed and pulled back, suddenly. "Wha... what... what the hell! You kissed me!"

"Yeah," Soul said, trying to be cool. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he could barely keep his back straight. That was a bit of a rush.

Maka turned away from him, slouching over. "You just kissed me!"

"Don't make it sound like a bad thing!"

"It is a..." she swallowed. Was that really a bad thing? It wasn't like she hated him. But he was her weapon! "Weapon and meister shouldn't-"

"Black Star and Tsubaki are going out!" Soul shouted loudly. He could barely contain his anger. She was making it sound like he was a creep!

Maka turned around and looked at him, a mortified expression on her face. "No!"

"Yeah! They have a date tonight!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

Maka turned away again, feeling a bit shocked. She expected Tsubaki to have a boyfriend soon. She was gorgeous, and sweet. But with Black Star? He was loud, and an ego maniac. "Really? Black Star?"

"Really! I wouldn't make this stuff up!"

Maka sighed. She turned to face Soul again, her face a bit red. "Well... maybe..." she swallowed hard. "Maybe you should kiss me again. So I can make sure I'm not in love you."

Soul stared at her for a moment. He bent over, on his hands and knees now. Maka was sitting up, and Soul had his hands on the couch next to her. He kissed her again, this time for a few seconds. He moved back again, looking into her eyes. "Decided yet?"

"...not yet," she said. "One more. Just to be sure."

He kissed her again, even longer than the last one. He looked at her again. "So?"

"Soul?"

"What?"

"I don't wanna fall in love."

His heart sunk. How could she say that? He felt like someone just stabbed him in the chest.

She smiled at him. "But, you know, I think I did anyway."

Soul looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yep."

He glared at her. "How could you do that? I thought you were-"

Maka leaned forward and kissed him again, just for a second. "Sorry," she said.

Soul rolled his eyes, but his anger subsided when he felt Maka's breath against him. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

And they kissed again.


End file.
